Duke Energy Q1 FY26 earnings call DUK

Duke reported Q1 reported EPS of $1.97 and adjusted EPS of $1.93, up from $1.76 (both bases) a year ago. Electric Utilities and Infrastructure contributed +$0.16, driven by infrastructure investments to serve growing jurisdictions plus favorable (colder) weather, partially offset by higher O&M and depreciation on a growing asset base; colder-temperature usage gains were offset by higher winter-storm O&M, which management characterizes as largely timing against solid recovery mechanisms. Gas Utilities and Infrastructure added +$0.01 on riders and customer growth net of higher depreciation, and the Other segment was essentially flat. Note: the transcript's speaker tags are garbled — CEO Harry Sideris's remarks are labeled 'Steven Fleishman (Analysts)' and several Q&A management answers are labeled 'David Hauser (Executives),' who is not a participant; the operator introduced only Harry Sideris (CEO) and Brian Savoy (CFO).

Duke signed an incremental 2.7 GW of data-center ESAs since the Q4 call — more than half of all it signed last year — bringing total executed electric service agreements to ~7.6 GW, nearly two-thirds of which are already under construction. Its late-stage, high-confidence pipeline (inclusive of signed ESAs) now stands at 15.4 GW, and management expects to convert additional prospects to ESAs over the next 12 months. Contracts include minimum-demand provisions, credit support, refundable capital advances and termination charges so large customers 'pay their fair share,' spreading fixed system costs over a larger base to benefit existing customers. Management cited accelerating interest with emerging hubs around Charlotte NC, Florida and Southern Indiana.

Duke is adding 14 GW of generation over five years. Its gas program has 5 GW under construction plus 2.5 GW in development; SC regulators approved a 1.4 GW combined-cycle plant in Anderson County (first new SC baseload in a decade, construction from 2027), and Indiana implemented a CWIP rider for the Cayuga combined-cycle plant. EPC contracts for the first three Carolinas gas facilities are signed with Zachry (Person County, Marshall), and GE turbines for the first Person County project are expected in 2H 2026. On nuclear, the NRC approved a subsequent license renewal for Robinson (second plant), ~300 MW of uprates are in execution, and the 11-reactor fleet provides ~$600M/yr of tax credits to customers; new nuclear build remains gated on technology, supply-chain/workforce and cost-overrun financial-risk resolution.

Management stressed rates below the national average and rising below inflation, and announced two accomplishments delivering more than $5 billion of customer benefits: a multiyear agreement to monetize up to $3.1 billion of clean-energy tax credits expected to be generated through 2028 (a forward contract at predetermined discounts, proceeds flowing to customers), and $2.3 billion of estimated savings through 2040 from combining the two Carolina utilities. Nuclear-generated tax credits of nearly $600 million per year also flow to customers. Management framed tax-credit monetization as a lever that could accelerate amortization to hold rates lower during the pending rate cases.

Duke received over $5 billion in March — $2.8 billion from Brookfield's first tranche (9.2% of Duke Energy Florida) and $2.5 billion from selling Piedmont Natural Gas Tennessee to Spire — strengthening credit and helping fund the $103 billion capital plan at the lowest cost of capital. It issued $1.5 billion of 3% convertible senior notes (replacing higher-cost debt) and priced $300 million of forward equity under its ATM to settle December 2027, aligned to future equity needs. This keeps FFO/debt on track to 14.5% in 2026 and 15% long term with cushion to downgrade thresholds, and the company marked its 100th consecutive year of paying a quarterly dividend.

The DEC and DEP North Carolina rate cases are proceeding on schedule, with intervenor testimony for DEC due at the end of May and settlement discussions likely to intensify thereafter (management open to settlement but confident in litigating). In South Carolina, Duke filed its initial electric rate stabilization adjustment in mid-March under 2025 legislation, enabling annual true-up^📎s that reduce rate volatility. Duke is also pursuing generic large-load tariff dockets across SC, NC, Florida and other states to codify the fair-share provisions already embedded in its contracts. Management flagged legislative-session activity on data-center cost-sharing as broadly aligned with its existing contract structures.